>> good evening everyone, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. white house questions what president obama knew about tapping the german chancellor's telephone and european representatives in washington demanding answers about america's spy program. a judge strikes down parts of a controversial state law. surviving superstorm sandy. the cost to open ellis island and the new protection to prevent disaster from a similar storm.

outrage over reports the nsa has been spying on being world leaders gross stronger today. president obama has he has ordered a review of the u.s. spy policies,.. >> their capacities continue to expand and develop. what they are able do doesn't necessarily mean what they should be doing. >> the platest allegation involves spain. the nsa is accused of listening to 60 million phone calls. answering questions. this afternoon new complaints from president obama's own party, the head of the senate intelligence committee democrat dianne feinstein says she's totally opposed to the nsa collecting intelligence on u.s. allies. a european parliamentary delegation now talking allegations face to face. more from al jazeera shihab

rattans irvnsi. the massive allegations in spain over the last few days. they did talk in general terms, anonymously, the white house is briefing the press on its side of the story when it comes to angela merkel's surveillance. the u.s. tracked millions of spanish phone calls, he repeated the nsa's surveillance programs are being examined. >> we are conducting a review, we are mindful that some of these disclosures have caused tension in our relationships. with new capabilities we recognize there need to be additional constraints on how we gather and use intelligence. >> tensions striekd suggesting president obama was briefed on the surveillance of angela merkel's phone in 2010 and fast tracked any information gathered

directly to the white house. in the past few days anonymous administration officials told the media that was false and the white house review only discovered the surveillance of u.s. leaders in summer. the bugging of angela merkel e ended immediately afterwards. it's about the surveillance of tens of millions of its constituents. >> just needs to be rebuilt. we need to find out why this kind of thing is happening and what kind of trust has to be rebuilt. in the end we're fighting a battle in terms of security. we need to get that balance right. we're concerned too about security and we made that very clear but also there needs to be a balance struck with privacy of citizens and i think these frank exchanges must need to be rebuild that very are the important trust. house chairman mike rogers,

he says europeans should be grateful because it's keeping them safe. officials are briefing journalists that detailing their cooperation in the dragnet surveillance of their citizens if not the monitoring of their leaders' phone calls. that's european parliament delegation will be in washington until wednesday. we're also expecting delegations from the french and german intelligence agencies at some point, in the coming days and weeks, the question is whether they're truly concerned about the massive sphaing surveillancf their citizens but their leaders. >> shihab rattansi. still a long way to go. >> the mass surveillance that has been revealed by edward snowden in spain in the last couple of days in france in

germany, has been of such a proportion and scale that that was not expected, and the spying on leaders has been of such a length of time and invasiveness that that was not expected. so it's about scale and proportionality as well. yes, people expect spying. yes friend-on-friend spying is not entirely unexpected, we're not naive. but friend on friend spying of this degree, by citizens around the world by the nsa allegedly is something that needs to be investigated. this is not just a human rights issue, this has commercial implications. if plas data has been taken on this scale and encryption has been compromised that is a commercial issue. we are asking number one, that we get to the truth because we can't -- you have to reestablish trust between the eu and u.s. on

this. this is important. secondly we're saying get some proportionality into this. we need to begin a process that says look we're not expecting some admission tomorrow but let's start a process of accountability. we have a problem in the european union. we have some european states that have bad accountability with relation to intelligence services and we have a problem and we're dealing with that too in that inquiry. this is part of a problem, to get this right because we're moving into a world where electronic communication is much more of a paradigm than it was. this is not a simple and easy answer but not a simple and easy set of circumstances either. during their visit to the u.s. texas's attorney general files an emergency appeal, that's in response to a ruling that struck down part of the new abortion restrictions in texas. the judge said the regulations

would unreasonably restrict a woman's access to abortion clinics. argued the new regulations would shut down about a third of the abortion clinics. heidi zhou-castro joins us. how has the governor reacted to this ruling? >> john perry put out a statement, will not stop our ongoing effort to protect life and ensure the women of our state are not exposed to any more of the abortion mill horror stories that have made headlines recently. john that statement falling in line with the restrictions of women's health. >> i believe these were to go into effect tomorrow. whawhat happens now? >> now there is this injunction and it would have drastically

impacted the work of the abortion clinics which i'm in front of right now. that element was the requirement of abortion doctors to get admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of a clinic. on that rule the judge said that it was an irrational and it would place undue burden on women. now there was another element that judge did rule on as well. that one requiring doctors to follow a strict fda approved drug protocol when giving patients abortion inducing drugs. that was left up to the judge's interpretation when a doctor could not follow those directions at pull a plaintiff said she was happy to pass on this good news to her patients.

>> it was great to be able to tell, women were calling me saying, do we have my appointment tomorrow can i come in, it was rewarding for me to tell my staff they have jobs and they will be able to come in. to give people the definitive answer whereas for months we've had a, i don't know, i don't know, we're going to fight it, we're going to do our best so it's a big relief. >> now, there are elements of this law that do go into enforcement tomorrow, mainly the ban of abortions after 20 weeks of gestation. now texas now becomes the 12th state with such a ban. that was never under contest, it was never a point of the lawsuit to begin with, john. >> heidi what other parts of the law were not included in this judge's ruling? >> well, there's that 20-week ban on abortions after 20 weeks and namely too next year these

abortion clinics will have to become certified ambulatory surgical center. then that may mean tearing down buildings, rebuilding if these businesses can sustain it. now of course this is just the last chaft in -- chapter in this saga we have seen played out, masses of protesters descend he on the state capital, a 30 day filibuster, which captured the nation's attention. john this will keep on going as you mentioned with the emergency appeal filed by the texas state attorney general. we can expect this to go all the way to the supreme court. >> this is not over. heidi, thank you very much. a prohealthcare advocate claimed it hacked into the presidential feed, instead it

laimpgd oyoutube video from the account syrian truth, another account, mr. obama doesn't have any ethical issues with spying on the world so we took it upon ourselves to return the favor. the group has been targeted for several high profile hacking attempts in the united states. u.n. inspectors missed an important deadline in dismantling syria's quepts program, they were unable to reach two of the 23 locations because of security reasons. they are currently destroying equipment used to manufacture the weapons. the inspectors didn't say exactly the if syrian rebels or the government were responsible, just that they are still negotiating access. the syrian government has agreed to destroy or remove its entire stockpile by 2014. the first report contains new

details about the extent of the country's chemical weapons program based on information the syrian government provided to the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons. syria says it has 24 facilities at 23 locations around the country. 2.3 million pounds, 230 unfilled chemical bombs in stork storming. syria has agreed to remove all of this by mid 2014, william butler is a former weapons inspector in iraq. ambassador good to see you. >> good to see you john. >> you've read this report, what stands out to you? >> what stands out to me, i am sorry to take slight issue with you john, the glass is not half empty, it's half full in my opinion. they're doing quite well these inspectors, there are two sites you're absolutely right that they have not been able to get

to. we have always anticipated that there may be some in that condition because of the presence of a civil war going on in syria. but the other parts of the report which i'm still studying, it's quite detailed and really quite fastening and tharks to al jazeera for that, the other parts of the report show that they have almost completely destroyed the filling equipment. you see the chemicals are head in binary fashion. who parts that have to be mixed together and then filled into munitions if they are to become a usable weapon. that equipment is crucial and this report shows that they have almost completed that already. so i think progress is quite encourage you. >> you know when we talk about this to begin with you suggested this would be a very, very difficult process, it wok time consuming. >> theat. >> it might take years to wrap all of this up. so you're more optimistic now? >> well, having been around this arms control business for a long

time, optimism is not my easy suit. what i did say earlier on john, is this can be done. the time frame is breathtakingly short. great pressure to get it done by the middle of next year. i've also said and i continual to believe that with the cooperation of the syrian government and this seems to be given this is what this report says, with their application and application of sufficient resources the report is surprising, actually, i don't think they have sufficient resources, the report says so far, so good, but with the application of sufficient resources i believe this breathtakingly short time frame can be reached. but there are big conditions i readily admit. syria has to continue to cooperate, that's where the politics gets into it and there needs to be more resources. it's going to be as hard as hell but the cooperation is underway

and we could possibly get there. >> you talk about cooperation. there were all sorts of questions about the assad regime once it got down to it would allow the weapons inspectors to do their job. based on this report that is happening right? >> yes, it is happening. if i may i'd like to speculate about the plokd that thef have. they used the weapons on the 21st of august, the world saw that. the lord knows what would happen if they did it again. secondly, the russianed moved id quite plainly behind them. if you want our support you'll do this. without russia's support their only big friend in the world the assad regime would be finished. i think they've got every political incentive to get rid of these useless weapons now

rendered useless to cooperate and keep their russian friends the if that politics should change, russia became less enchanted with them, then i think the assad regime's position would be powerfuls to say the very least. >> the report suggests the security environment remains difficult and unprepredictable. how has the u.n. inspections team been able to cope with that problem? >> it is difficult and unpredictable, that's why they have not gotten to those two sites that you mentioned in the beginning. because those sites can't be secured. the yrnlings government is helping in providing that, the u.n. has got some security in there it's not over yet, and i don't know whether we'll actually get to those sites

splongs the war continues. -- as long as the war continues. but that raises the other truly significant political question. i'm sure john knew and i'm sure other people reading reports in recent days have been just as report as i have been about the state of affairs at the consequence of the war, the emergence of polio and so on. what is desperately needed is to build on this weapons agreements, get that peace schedule underway and see if an end can be brought to the true sears seersyrian questions. >> we have talked to a journalist in syria who has been bringing us reports and pictures of the devastation and frustration going on during the

civil war. as someone who has been part of the u.n, what can the u.n. do to address that problem? because the weapons inspections clearly hasn't addressed that problem. >> no, it hadn't and it's not designed to do so. the agreement on the weapons destruction demonstrates in my almost 30 years of the u.n. is central. nothing will happen, nothing goodwill come out of it unless all are agreed. that's why we got this chemical weapons agreement underway, because they were all agreed. it's time to agree as one, to go to the syrian deposit an governo speak to the syrian rebels and say this cannot go on, we will not accept it. and to make clear with one solid voice, not negotiate with one another, which side they want to

work together, to say with disenltd humidity that this must stop and do what the u.n. security council is supposed to do. >> thank you for seeing you. >> good to see you. >> hundreds of thousands are left in the dark and forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights and train trips. in great britain, windy conditions killed two people including a 17-year-old who was thrown against a tree while she was sleeping. also at least six deaths reported in germany all across europe people were urged to stay indoors spite its trectd the storm dubbed st. jude has not been called a hurricane yet.

>> kevin corriveau, europe name their winter storms. what we're going to be seeing in the overnight hours is a applicant more of the same through poland and the ball tick. air flights going into that area so if you're traveling from the states to northern europe you may see delays if you are leaving this evening. probably by this time tomorrow things are going to be much better. across the united states, we have a storm towards the western part of the united states. this is bringing a bunch mixed prescription to people out here. about a week ago we were looking at the west as one of the most beautiful parts of the country, and we expect to see in the higher elevation especially of clatch anywhere between eight and ten inches of snow. you can see how it's snowing, in

the overnight hours, the temperature is going to drop, more snow will fall there. i'll bring more details at the end of the hour. >> we'll talk to you then kevin. thank you. penn state's multimillion dollar payout to victims of jerry sandusky.

antonio mora brings you smart conversation that challenges the status quo with unexpected opinions and a fresh outlook. including yours. >> what do you think? >> consider this. unconventional wisdom. (vo) al jazeera america we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. (vo) we pursue that story beyond the headline, past the spokesperson, to the streets.

>> thousands of riot police deployed across the capitol. (vo) we put all of our global resources behind every story. >> it is a scene of utter devastation. (vo) and follow it no matter where it leads, all the way to you. al jazeera america. take a new look at news. >> penn state university ask trying to move past the jerry san dufng scandal that marred the reputation of its school program. paying $26 million to victims of sandusky. comes a year after sandusky was sentenced to life for child abuse. jonathan betz has the story. >> nearly $60 million to be split among 26 young men sexually assaulted by the former assistant football coach.

in a statement the university president said we hope this is another step forward in the healing process. we cannot undo what's been done but we can learn and ensure it never happens again. the agreement releases the school from future claims. insurance will pay the settlement not tuition. comes after months of negotiations after sandusky was convicted for buzzing boys. graphic accusations of rape sometimes in the university showers and then claims of a massive coverup later by penn state. throughout sandusky continues to insist he's innocent. the 69-year-old remains in prison while he appeals while his victims and the university try omove open. jonathan betz, al jazeera, new york. >> apple offered a mixed report card for its last financial

quarter. profits were better than expected. a $7.5 billion thanks ostrong iphone sales. however, the company warns next quarter's profits might not meet wall street's expectations. sales of iphone 5s and cheaper 5s. samsung has controlled 35% of the smartphone market in the last quarter. apple came in second and samsung is shipping twice asful smartphones than apple. investors are betting the fed will keep up its massive stimulus are after its policy meeting on wednesday. michael eaves is here with sports talking the world series,

what happened over the weekend? >> a lot of excitement. based on what we saw the last two games. game 5 is underway. this is crucial for the two teams, tonight's winner will take back a 3-2 advantage and take that to game siksd and possibly 7. if the cardinals lose they will have to win back to back in order to win the title. now they trail 1-0 in the first inning. he will have to start targeting the knees of opposing tackles fear of punishment, merriweather has been punished several times for helmet to helmet hits. first round draft pick next summer and a second round draft pick in 2015. been rvetion96 are are olson

mass already scored with his new team. more talk on the world series. >> thank you michael. it has been one year since hurricane sandy hit the eastern u.s. hate speech in 140 characters. twitter's growing problem with hate-filled hashtags. your retirement? i'm here to make the connections to your money real. real money with ali velshi tomorrow - 7 eastern on al jazeera america ais

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. here are the top stories. more outrage today over reports the nsa has been spying on america's allies. a european delegation is in washington riet right now askind millions of french citizens phones. they're also new allegations of monitoring phones in spain. a victory today in texas for pro-choice supporters. a federal judge has declared several new abortion restrictions unconstitutional, block enforcement of the new laws. the restrictions were scheduled

to take effect in texas tomorrow. fighting in syria has blocked u.n. inspectors from accessing two chemical weapons facilities. it's a crucial setback in their attempt to rid the country of its chemical weapons. inspectors did not say whether syria's rebels or the government is responsible for the delay, just that negotiations for access are still underway. tomorrow marks one year since superstorm sandy slammed into the u.s. east coast. hundreds of lives were lost and the storm cost billions of dollars in damage. while some have bounced back many are still struggling to get back to normal. during the past year the federal government has sent $14 billion in assistance to new york and new jersey the two states hardest hit by the storm. the island has reopened, ellis island had closed since superstorm sandy. the island was without power for months but as john terrett

reports, the island is already back open for business. >> not this past year: superstorm sandy put a stop to that. a 14 foot storm surge inundated the island. there was no power here for months. on monday things began looking up once more. as the tourists returned so did the smiles on the faces of the island's superintendent and his staff who have been through a lot since sandy. >> we literally lost our entire infrastructure. all our hvac systems our telephones our data systems our pledge systems. everything was destroyed. all in the basement our offices were destroyed, everything was destroyed. we have our offices back up and operational, we have interim power and everything. we've got the schematics done, we've started doing the permanent fixes and the rest of

the fixes will probably take about seven months and we should be operational, fully operational and back up and better than ever in this spring. >> the national park service which runs ellis island and liberty island says the cost for prearg both will be $77 million, $21 million on ellis island alone. a level of protection not previously seen, if a similar hurricane does strike they reckon they will be up in a matter of weeks not a year and not as large cost. 62 years of active service is reopening on the same day as lady liberty's birthday. the park service says what better way is there to celebrate her 127 anniversary. but visitors to ellis island may have to wait a while to see some of the artifacts stretching back to the time when this island processed millions of immigrants

homing to make it to the new -- hoping to make it to the new world. roughly 1 million documents and photographs and possessions once on display here. the target is may the 1st of next year. john terrett, al jazeera, ellis island, new york. >> our special series, surviving sandy. james b. comey was formally installed. as head of the fbi. comey was the deputy attorney general under john ashcroft during the bush administration. >> given to every new employee by those who went before. but it is a gift that must be protected and earned every sim day. single day. we protect that gift by making

mistakes and admitting them. by making promises and keeping them. and by realizing that nothing, no case, no source, no fear of embarrassment is worth jeopardizing the gift of integrity. >> during his tenure in the attorney general's office, comey blocked senior bush administration officials from getting a controversial wiretapping program reauthorized. hacking into several u.s. earmt and nasa computer systems, 28-year-old lori move was charged with stealing information from government employees. they said they did the hacking to interrupt federal government operations. he's now free on bail until february. he's suspected of having co-conspirators in australia and sweden but no one last been charged yet.

hacking scandal that brought down britain's news of the world newspaper in 2011. eight people including the former editors are on trial. 144 people have settled hacking claim with the paper's owner, rupert murdock. those who have received damages include actor hugh grant, actor christopher eckelston and sarah ferguson, prince andrew's former wife. storms that hit u.k. southeast meant not everyone could be prompt, proceedings got underway three hours late. no matter, this is likely to be the u.k.'s longest trials in years. the phone hacking are scandal sent shock waives through the administration. colson worked as hes director of

communications. revelations that the phones of celebrities politicians and crime victims had been hacked by the news of the world brought rupert murdock's news empire down. this trial is first and foremost a human story where two powerful public figures rebeck ah brooks and andy colson right at the heart of it but it also threapts huge tension that exists between the need for a free press and the awareness that sometimes that freedom can be abused. >> besides those two former editors of the news of the world there are six other deficits. the charges which all deny include conspiracy to subvert the course of justice. >> two fighters are dead from a suspected drone strike in somalia, believed to be a part of the armed group al shabaab.

they were the only people in the car. some people are blaming the united states for the attack. according to the associated press an al shabaab member said the two men who died were senior members of the group. there's more trouble over the weekend for the beleaguered affordable health care website. healthcare.gov was offline over the weekend, because of technical issues. ironically the problem came to light when kathleen sebelius, health and human services secretary, praised the website. the problem reportedly was fiched fixed and the site was back up and running. two oklahoma convicts still on the run after a breakout, from the detention center early yesterday. two men were captured in a

convenience store. two others are still in the area. they broke into the crawl space above the shower and made it out the door. joie chen is telling us what's coming up on america tonight. >> week long focus sex crimes on campus. tonight the many campuses we visited in reporting this story okaoccidental, a surprising numr of attackers are serial offenders responsible for most of the attacks on campus. why experts say that has just got to change. >> which way are they going to go? are they going to go the route of the complicate churc catholie they going odo better? are they going to show that they

can respond to this with honesty and with a commitment to do the right thing? >> chris bury will report on the serial rapist, our first report on sex crimes on campus. on america tonight. >> thank you joie. uruguay may be the first country in the southern hemisphere where marijuana is legal. >> diego oh says smoking marijuana is legal but buying is not. >> if you want to smoke it is your choice. >> uruguay's senate is expected

to are legalize the sale of marijuana. now they want other drugs to be decriminalized. >> all bad things should be decriminalized. tobacco alcohol weapons and marijuana. >> consumers should know they are buying bad quality drugs that put them at risk. that way they can get it in a safe place. >> uruguay's president, the main backer of the marijuana bill, says his goal is to take the lucrative market away from traffickers. the government will give licenses to grow marijuana and will sell it in pharmacies. the president says that means buyers won't have to deal with criminal networks. it's a controversial proposal. >> translator: the government'government's messages are here to say and we must learn to live with them.

but we do not understand why we have to accept a life with drugs. >> congresswoman veronica lonzo says the war against drugs should be reduced, damage control. uruguay is a small south american country with a big drug problem. consumption of hard drugs like crack cocaine is on the rise and nearly 70,000 people smoke marijuana. it's 11:30 and exercise time. at the main rehab facility for youngsters in uruguay. this place you see is publicly funded and it treats about 300 addicts each month. it's a pretty significant number considering the country only has 3 million people. but doctors at this clinic say mj is the least of their concerns. it is more difficult to treat people who are addicted to crack

cocaine than marijuana. >> it should not let these substances to be governed by the crude market laws of demand and supply. >> doctors here hope the marijuana bill passes and that others will follow. as they continue to help young addicts rebuild their young lives. monica villa mizar montivideo, uruguay. >> with the series tied at 2, between the rems and the cardinals, evan michael eaves hs more on the big event. >> then this friday at nine eastern, we open up the conversation in a live town-hall event. sex crimes on campus, a special

week of coverage and live town-hall on america tonight nine eastern. only on al jazeera america.

>> every morning from 6 to 10am al jazeera america brings you more us and global news than any other american news channel. find out what happened and what to expect. >> start every morning, every day, 6am to 10 eastern with al jazeera america. >> tens of millions of twitter users around the world are expressing their thoughts in 140

characters or less now. many want to crack down on the growing hate speech on this popular free speech platform. juan molina has the story. >> twitter has become the spot for hate mongerrers. >> gave it an f rating. >> we thought the platform, we give facebook an a and we gave twitter an f because facebook was really good if you have an issue you can complain and take care of it whereas twitter didn't really want to talk to anyone about the issues. >> reverend berg is the director of the simon viesenthal center.

>> understand twitter type in adolph hitler's name. you'll find dozens of people tweeting under that. dictator hitler is putting out words where jews should be gassed and tortured. he has 250 million followers. >> there is a 230% increase in hate speech, up from 15,000 the year before. but rabbi berg says it's not just jewish groups targeted. >> not just jews, muslims and christians. you can be in bangladesh or all around the world, come together and find like-minded people in hate. >> last month twitter erupted after nina davooluri was crowned

first miss america of indian descent. creato perez says response got ugly fast on twitter. threats of rape. prompted a petition online calling for the site to add a prominent abuse button similar to facebook's, the petition got 100,000 signatures, and twitter answered in a blog saying we hear you, promising improvements. but it's not responding fast enough. juan los molina, al jazeera. >> well, maibl michael is back h sports. one call i think probably will be the one thing people will

remember about the series maybe. >> one or lose. we'll recall the obstruction call for quite some time. game five is just under way, getting started about three minutes ago. in order to update you on the story sometimes you need to go back to how these two teams got mere and understand how these two teams got here for the first place. ross shimabuku reports. >> before yadier molina started, metheny men toward molina. >> how are you able to manage guys that you play with? is there a little bit of conflict because a lot of us think of people we work with not sure we want them to be our boss

he but he was a mentor then and a mentor now. >> he didn't make his mlb debut when metheny went on the disabled list. when methene was picked to start over methene metheny. out of the job. >> yadier is a great example. >> back in the world series again but in different worlds than in '04 but this time around they're hoping to beat the very team that swept them nine years ago. >> a few of them have bad memories of being here in 2004 and looking to right that ship. >> once the mentor matheny is

looking for molina. >> he looks to him to be a coach. he will when yadier molina comes into the dugout, ask him questions. very rarely you see that molina is almost part of the coaching staff as well. >> ross shimabuku, al jazeera. >> now for boston making the world series was a far fetched idea following last season's embarrassing last place finish but one huge change at the top made all the difference in the world. after the nightmare that was the 2012 season and the dismissal of manager bobby valentine after that one campaign, the boston red sox traded for toronto bluejays skipper john farrell. >> the players never warmed up to him, i'm not saying they quit

open him but they didn't thrive, they lost 93 games, it was a miserable place to be, players hated to be around, bobby valentine hated to be around him. they had no choice but to fire him after one season. >> the red sox sported the best record in the league. his team first attitude has perm permeated the clubhouse. >> it was clear this was a group of veteran guys that have come from winning environments and we got a core back that was healthy. the tight knit group we know today started to experience some things and answer some challenges that we felt like we had a good team. >> but farrell's influence reaches past the clubhouse. he has had a tangible influence on the game specifically on the

pitching, after all, the 53-year-old was the pitching coach and held that for four seasons. farrell is only one of two pitchers currently managing in the marriage liegz. liegz -- leagues. >> they have a chance to go beyond worst to first, to world series chapels. >> right now the -- champions. >> boston scoring off st. louis adam wainwright. gave them that 1-0 lead. john, whoever wins this goes back to boston with 3-2 lead. >> we'll see you later on this evening. it is a sport with origination tracing back to the are ancient olympics.

but today, the modern pentathalon. >> it may be called the modern pentathalon but this sport has been part of the olympics since 1912. can even trace its roots back to 708 b.c. and the original olympic games. the father of the modern day olympics, designed to stimulate the skills required of a 19th century cavalry soldier, fencing shooting horse jumping, swimming and running. but the question is, the sport designed in the 19th century have any reivel relevance in the 21st? >> i'm an artist in my sport, so

we changed a lot. we have the one-day format, first time it was 1996 centennial games in atlanta. then i said no we have to go away from the fire shooting, air shooting, then new technology, laser shooting, environmentally friendly shooting. this was another big step. then the combination of shoot and run, like we have in winter battle. another exciting moment. >> how significant is that you have an olympic recognition? >> we have an elite sport, to run the five disciplines to participate in pentathalon, you are a good swimmer, but not skilled in riding horse. you need quite a lot of intelligence to run this sport. we are not a mass sport we are an elite sport. so if you are not in this box of

olympic under the ploi olympic s it would be very difficult to convince the governments to support you. >> this event, the champion of champions brought together the top talent in the sport, frenchman christophe patte. >> i want to take my last competition, and this day is my day today, fencing, fencing is good and after that it's easy for me. >> so with its olympic state assured bosses say their priority willen to raise modern pentathalon into these. al jazeera doha. >> kevin corriveau takes a look at the weather next. status quo with unexpected opinions and a fresh outlook. including yours. >> what do you think? >> consider this.

unconventional wisdom. on august 20th, al jazeera america introduced

>> hello again, well after about ten days of very beautiful weather, fall like weather across much of the west, things are really changed. we've gotten a low out of the pacific, pulling in the

moisture, as well as dropping the temperatures, throughout the west are experiencing rain, mix of rain or snow. right now we're concerned about the sierra nevadas but as the snows drifts a little bit more to the east, the big problem is parts of colorado, montana, wyoming as well as idaho and utah. in some locations especially in the higher elevations we're going to see up to 12 inches of snows across this region. this is what it looks like in terms of hazards. really a messy map, dark blues across colorado and utah. in those areas those are the higher elevations, that's where the notic snow is going to be a problem. especially into tomorrow that is going to be a problem. you may want to call ahead make sure you have the right tires on your car for this kind of travel. freeze warnings along the coastal areas, washington, oregon, california, into tomorrow morning.

right now actually tomorrow morning we are going osee elko into -- to see elko to 29°. it did drop about 10° the last two hours the overnight low is not going to be much lower than this. 55° over towards st. louis, what we're going to see is a change as that system in the west starts to make its way into the east. this area in the central plains will get quite messy as well. clouds and light rain passing across the northern new england states. for boston last week you saw a very cold world series. as we go towards wednesday for the next game, partly cloudy conditions and thursday 61. that's a look at your national weather, your headlines are coming up next.

welcome to "al jazeera america." i'm john seigenthaler in new york, and here are the top stories. a ruling strikes down new abortion restrictions in texas. a federal judge rules the regulations unreasonably restrict a woman's access to abortion clinics. lawyers for providers argued the law would shut down about a third of the clinics that provide abortion. spain is the latest american ally investigating reports that the nsa spied on millions in that country's citizens. the european delegation is in washington right now investigating those allegations including reports that the phone of the german chancellor, angela merkel, was tapped as well. a british man has been charged with